1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a fastener and a fastener applier. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a staple and/or staple applier with structure for curling or coiling staple legs to facilitate joining of tissues having varying thicknesses.
2. Background of Related Art
Surgical staples and stapling instruments are well known in the surgical arts and have become critical to many life saving surgical procedures. The use of stapling instruments for applying staples to join tissue or tissue segments in a fast and efficient manner has obviated the time consuming step of manually suturing tissue or tissue segments in these surgical procedures, e.g., anastomoses procedures. The reduced time required to perform these surgical procedures using surgical stapling instruments has resulted in reduced trauma and risk to patients.
Typically, a surgical staple includes a backspan and a pair of spaced legs. The legs are driven through tissue and into an anvil to deform the staple into a desired configuration, e.g., B-staple, to effect hemostasis of tissue or tissue segments. One problem associated with known staples and staple appliers is that the staples are dimensioned or sized to fasten tissue segments of a given tissue thickness or fasten tissue segments within a predetermined narrow range of thicknesses. Neither the staple nor the staple applier is adapted to deform or reconfigure a staple to facilitate effective hemostatis of tissues having thicknesses outside the predetermined range for a particular size staple.
Accordingly, a continuing need exists in the field of surgery for a surgical staple and/or staple applier which can adapt or reconfigure a surgical staple in a manner which is suitable for use in fastening tissue having a wider range of thicknesses.